For the second time in four years, the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions of baseball! Jonathan Papelbon struck out pinch hitter Seth Smith for the final out of tonight's game at Coors Field to give the Sox a four game sweep.
Congratulations to the Red Sox!!!
-----
Showing posts with label Rockies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rockies. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sox Rock Rox Again!
The Boston Red Sox struck pounded Colorado Rockie starter Josh Fogg early and often tonight: 10 hits, six earned runs, two walks, and only eight batters retired. The 6-0 lead was one they would never relinquish, though it certainly got interesting for a bit...
The Rockies would come back to score two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to get to within a run at 6-5. The Red Sox came right back to score three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. Jonathan Papelbon closed things out in the ninth to give the Red Sox a commanding three games to none lead in the best of seven game series...
-----
The Rockies would come back to score two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to get to within a run at 6-5. The Red Sox came right back to score three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. Jonathan Papelbon closed things out in the ninth to give the Red Sox a commanding three games to none lead in the best of seven game series...
-----
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Sox Give Rox Lowell Down
Once again, Curt Schilling proved the naysayers wrong. After getting shelled by Cleveland for nine hits and five earned runs in game two of the American League Championship Series, many thought that maybe he should be pulled from the Red Sox rotation. Some of us know the competitor Schilling is and were confident he would bounce back. Sure enough, he was dominant in game six of that series, pitching the Sox to a 12-2 win.
Tonight, it was the same old Schilling. No, he won't throw that 95 MPH fastball by you anymore. These days, Schilling relies on pinpoint location and his patented split-fingered fastball. Perhaps he was feeling some butterflies tonight in game two of the World Series as he hit the speedy Wily Taveras of the Colorado Rockies to begin it. After a Kazuo Matsui fly out, Matt Holliday squibbed a single to left to move Taveras to third. Todd Helton then pulled a grounder to first, scoring Taveras to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
The Rockies had flame-thrower Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for them tonight, and for three innings, he was what can be called "effectively wild," holding the Sox scoreless, while walking two and hitting a batter. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the wildness finally began to catch up with Jimenez. With one out, Mike Lowell walked. J.D. Drew then singled Lowell to third with a single to right field. Catcher Jason Varitek evened the score at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to center to score Lowell.
The walk would come back to haunt Jimenez again in the fifth inning. With two outs, David "Big Papi" Ortiz walked. Manny Ramirez moved Big Papi to second with a single to left. Mike Lowell then did the hero work, doubling to left to score Ortiz and give the Sox a 2-1 lead and ending Jimenez' night. As it turned out, that was more than enough for Schilling and the rest of the Boston pitching contingent.
After that somewhat rocky start in the first, Schilling settled down to pitch masterfully the next four innings, allowing only two singles and a walk, while striking out four. Schilling got into some trouble in the sixth inning, giving up a one out single to Matt Holliday and a walk to Todd Helton. After making only 82 pitches, he was pulled for Hideki Okajima. Okajima quickly restored order, getting Garrett Adkins to ground out and striking out Brad Hawpe to end the inning.
Okajima was near-perfect in his 2 1/3 innings of work, striking out four batters, while not allowing a hit. Closer Jonathan Papelbon was brought in with two outs in the eighth inning and gave up an infield single to Matt Holliday. For Holliday, it was his fourth hit of the game. He was quickly erased though as Papelbon picked him off first to end the inning. In the ninth, "Paps" simply was dominant, blowing away Helton swinging at a 98 MPH fastball for the first out of the inning, retiring Adkins on a weak line drive to center, and then striking out Hawpe on a 97 MPH fastball to end the game.
Game three of the World Series will be Saturday night in Colorado. Game 7 ALCS winner Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound for the Red Sox, while "the dragonslayer" Josh Fogg pitches for the Rockies. The game will be televised at 8:35 ET/5:35 PT on your local Fox affiliate. As an added bonus, Carrie Underwood will be singing the National Anthem prior to the start of action.
-----
Tonight, it was the same old Schilling. No, he won't throw that 95 MPH fastball by you anymore. These days, Schilling relies on pinpoint location and his patented split-fingered fastball. Perhaps he was feeling some butterflies tonight in game two of the World Series as he hit the speedy Wily Taveras of the Colorado Rockies to begin it. After a Kazuo Matsui fly out, Matt Holliday squibbed a single to left to move Taveras to third. Todd Helton then pulled a grounder to first, scoring Taveras to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
The Rockies had flame-thrower Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for them tonight, and for three innings, he was what can be called "effectively wild," holding the Sox scoreless, while walking two and hitting a batter. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the wildness finally began to catch up with Jimenez. With one out, Mike Lowell walked. J.D. Drew then singled Lowell to third with a single to right field. Catcher Jason Varitek evened the score at 1-1 with a sacrifice fly to center to score Lowell.
The walk would come back to haunt Jimenez again in the fifth inning. With two outs, David "Big Papi" Ortiz walked. Manny Ramirez moved Big Papi to second with a single to left. Mike Lowell then did the hero work, doubling to left to score Ortiz and give the Sox a 2-1 lead and ending Jimenez' night. As it turned out, that was more than enough for Schilling and the rest of the Boston pitching contingent.
After that somewhat rocky start in the first, Schilling settled down to pitch masterfully the next four innings, allowing only two singles and a walk, while striking out four. Schilling got into some trouble in the sixth inning, giving up a one out single to Matt Holliday and a walk to Todd Helton. After making only 82 pitches, he was pulled for Hideki Okajima. Okajima quickly restored order, getting Garrett Adkins to ground out and striking out Brad Hawpe to end the inning.
Okajima was near-perfect in his 2 1/3 innings of work, striking out four batters, while not allowing a hit. Closer Jonathan Papelbon was brought in with two outs in the eighth inning and gave up an infield single to Matt Holliday. For Holliday, it was his fourth hit of the game. He was quickly erased though as Papelbon picked him off first to end the inning. In the ninth, "Paps" simply was dominant, blowing away Helton swinging at a 98 MPH fastball for the first out of the inning, retiring Adkins on a weak line drive to center, and then striking out Hawpe on a 97 MPH fastball to end the game.
Game three of the World Series will be Saturday night in Colorado. Game 7 ALCS winner Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the mound for the Red Sox, while "the dragonslayer" Josh Fogg pitches for the Rockies. The game will be televised at 8:35 ET/5:35 PT on your local Fox affiliate. As an added bonus, Carrie Underwood will be singing the National Anthem prior to the start of action.
-----
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Ump, Rockies Send Padres on Holliday
In a dramatic 13 inning game, Jamey Carroll's sacrifice fly off of San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman scored MVP candidate Matt Holliday to give the Colorado Rockies a very controversial come-from-behind 9-8 victory. After catching Carroll's flyout to medium right field, Brian Giles made a strong throw to Padre catcher Michael Barrett. Barrett blocked home plate from Holliday, but dropped the ball while trying to tag him as he slid by. Barrett then picked up the ball and tagged Holliday for what should have been the second out of the inning. However, home plate umpire Tim Mcclelland incorrectly ruled Holliday safe. This just adds further fuel to the case for the use of instant replay in baseball. Hopefully, one of these days soon, Major League Baseball commissioner Bed Selig will look into instituting a replay system similiar to that used by the NFL.
Both starting pitchers proved ineffective in the thin air of Denver. Likely 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy gave up six earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Rockie starter Josh Fogg allowed five runs of his own in four innings of work, four of them coming on a third inning grand-slam by Adrian Gonzalez for his 30th home run of the year. The Rockies carried a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning until former closer Brian Fuentes gave a double to Giles to score Geoff Blum and make it a 6-6 tie. Each team then got four innings of shutout ball from their relievers.
The Padres had taken an 8-6 lead in the top of the 13th inning on a two-run homer by Scott Hairston. Kazuo Matsui led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Troy Tulowitski then followed with a double of his own to score Matsui and make it an 8-7 game. Holliday tripled high off the right field fence scoring Tulowitski to tie the game at 8... this one will be remembered for a VERY long time by Padres fans...
The Rockies travel to Philadelphia for game one of their divisional series tomorrow afternoon. Cole Hamels takes the mound for the Phillies while Jeff Francis takes the mound for the Rockies.
-----
Both starting pitchers proved ineffective in the thin air of Denver. Likely 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy gave up six earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Rockie starter Josh Fogg allowed five runs of his own in four innings of work, four of them coming on a third inning grand-slam by Adrian Gonzalez for his 30th home run of the year. The Rockies carried a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning until former closer Brian Fuentes gave a double to Giles to score Geoff Blum and make it a 6-6 tie. Each team then got four innings of shutout ball from their relievers.
The Padres had taken an 8-6 lead in the top of the 13th inning on a two-run homer by Scott Hairston. Kazuo Matsui led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Troy Tulowitski then followed with a double of his own to score Matsui and make it an 8-7 game. Holliday tripled high off the right field fence scoring Tulowitski to tie the game at 8... this one will be remembered for a VERY long time by Padres fans...
The Rockies travel to Philadelphia for game one of their divisional series tomorrow afternoon. Cole Hamels takes the mound for the Phillies while Jeff Francis takes the mound for the Rockies.
-----
Monday, October 1, 2007
Padres, Rockies: OT!
It was about 3:37 PM in Denver, Colorado yesterday when the Milwaukee Brewers finished polishing off the San Diego Padres by an 11-6 score. At the time, the hometown Rockies were tied 1-1 with the Arizona Diamondbacks as they entered the 8th inning of their game. With that result, the Rockies knew that they would only need to win their game to force a one game playoff Monday at Coors Field against the Padres for the N.L. Wild Card… Not five minutes later, the Rockies were well on their way to playing at least one game in October. Garrett Adkins singled in Troy Tulowitski to give the Rockies a 2-1 lead over the D-Backs. Brad Hawpe then doubled in Todd Helton and Matt Holliday to give the Rockies a 4-1 advantage… there were still no outs in the inning, but Brandon Lyon was able to strike out Yorvit Torrealba and then induced Cory Sullivan to ground into an inning ending double play to end the threat. A three run lead and a closer with a 1.89 ERA made it certainly look like it was a safe bet to start selling tickets for a game 163.
But, as we know these things are never easy. Manny Corpus (he of that 1.89 ERA coming in) was summoned to close the game for the Rockies, and for once, he was very “rocky.” Miguel Montero squibbed an infield single towards first and Carlos Quentin doubled Montero to third. Suddenly, the tying run was at the plate with no one out! Augie Ojeda hit a scoring flyball to left to make it a 4-2 game. A Jeff Cirillo ground out moved Quentin to third and got the Rockies to within one out of October… Alberto Callaspo then lined a single to left-center to score Quentin. Now, the go ahead run was at the plate in the form of a .229-hitting Stephen Drew. Corpus quickly got two strikes on Drew, who then hit a sharp grounder by the mound. Corpus fielded it brilliantly, however, and then tossed the ball to firstbaseman Todd Helton to record the final out at right about 4:04 PM local time, pushing the Rockies’ 2007 season into October.
It’s been a few years since a one game playoff determined the final team to make it into the divisional races. Actually, this is the first time this millenium it’s happened - the last being in 1999 when the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds by a 5-0 score for the N.L. Wild Card.
Tonight, the Padres will trot out their ace, and the likely 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner, Jake Peavy to face the Rockies and Josh Fogg. The game will be televised nationally on TBS (the Atlanta Superstation) beginning at 7:37 ET/4:37 PT and most importantly for those in Denver, 5:37 Mountain Time.
—–
Tonight’s game has a lot of impact in one other type of leagues - fantasy ones! Against all odds, I happened to finish in a dead-heat tie for first in one of my leagues - my competitor and I each finishing with exactly 79.0 out of a possible 100 points. I also happen to own Padre playoff starter Jake Peavy and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitski. To make a long story short, if Peavy gets a win and pitches decently (an ERA of 5.0 or less and a WHIP - walks+hits per innings pitched - ratio of 1.56 or less per 9 innings), I will win the league. A similar strong outing from Peavy without a win and a Tulowitski steal or three runs scored from him would also give me the outright win. If Peavy has a poor outing (as he did last year at Coors 5 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings with 8 hits and 3 walks) then I would lose… and of course, there are all kinds of scenarios involved where I could end up tied… you better bet that I’ll be glued to my TV set those entire nine innings tonight! Go Peavy!!!
—–
But, as we know these things are never easy. Manny Corpus (he of that 1.89 ERA coming in) was summoned to close the game for the Rockies, and for once, he was very “rocky.” Miguel Montero squibbed an infield single towards first and Carlos Quentin doubled Montero to third. Suddenly, the tying run was at the plate with no one out! Augie Ojeda hit a scoring flyball to left to make it a 4-2 game. A Jeff Cirillo ground out moved Quentin to third and got the Rockies to within one out of October… Alberto Callaspo then lined a single to left-center to score Quentin. Now, the go ahead run was at the plate in the form of a .229-hitting Stephen Drew. Corpus quickly got two strikes on Drew, who then hit a sharp grounder by the mound. Corpus fielded it brilliantly, however, and then tossed the ball to firstbaseman Todd Helton to record the final out at right about 4:04 PM local time, pushing the Rockies’ 2007 season into October.
It’s been a few years since a one game playoff determined the final team to make it into the divisional races. Actually, this is the first time this millenium it’s happened - the last being in 1999 when the New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds by a 5-0 score for the N.L. Wild Card.
Tonight, the Padres will trot out their ace, and the likely 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner, Jake Peavy to face the Rockies and Josh Fogg. The game will be televised nationally on TBS (the Atlanta Superstation) beginning at 7:37 ET/4:37 PT and most importantly for those in Denver, 5:37 Mountain Time.
—–
Tonight’s game has a lot of impact in one other type of leagues - fantasy ones! Against all odds, I happened to finish in a dead-heat tie for first in one of my leagues - my competitor and I each finishing with exactly 79.0 out of a possible 100 points. I also happen to own Padre playoff starter Jake Peavy and Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitski. To make a long story short, if Peavy gets a win and pitches decently (an ERA of 5.0 or less and a WHIP - walks+hits per innings pitched - ratio of 1.56 or less per 9 innings), I will win the league. A similar strong outing from Peavy without a win and a Tulowitski steal or three runs scored from him would also give me the outright win. If Peavy has a poor outing (as he did last year at Coors 5 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings with 8 hits and 3 walks) then I would lose… and of course, there are all kinds of scenarios involved where I could end up tied… you better bet that I’ll be glued to my TV set those entire nine innings tonight! Go Peavy!!!
—–
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Dodgers, Mets Attacked By Rockies, Nats!
This is the time of year where a game or two or a series or two can define a season. In the case of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets, the past several days might just be remembered historically for both teams as the time the 2007 season got away. It's kind of ironic both of these teams are faltering at this crucial stretch considering that the two teams were 2006 first round playoff opponents - the Mets winning their best of five series in three straight games.
The Dodgers came into yesterday's day-night doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies three games behind the San Diego Padres for the N.L. Wild Card spot. The Rockies hopes were even slimmer coming in to the series, starting the day five games back of the Padres. Given the history of Colorado's Coors Field, this figured to be a very high scoring series. Home plate umpire Tim Welke did his best to make sure that game one would not be your typical scoring fest at Coors, employing a very generous strike zone throughout. Starting pitchers Jeff Francis and Chad Billingsley were almost constantly in trouble, allowing baserunners in practically every inning. Thanks to some fortuitous double-play grounders and questionable third strike calls, only four runs would be scored in game one. Billingsley allowed only two runs in his 5 1/3 innings of work - Matt Holliday singled in Cory Sullivan in the fourth and Todd Helton scored Sullivan with a single of his own in the sixth. The Dodgers managed ten baserunners against Francis, but only scored once - a solo home run by Olmedo Saenz with two out in the seventh knocked Francis from the game. Francis was the big beneficiary of Welke's big strike zone, fanning a career high ten batters. Joe Koshansky quickly erased Saenz' run, scoring Brad Hawpe in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-1 Colorado lead. LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas kept the Dodgers in check the final 2 1/3 innings to seal the victory in game one.
The second game of the twinbill was much more typical of what we've become accustomed to over the years at Coors Field. Each team tallied three runs in the first inning. It was the beginning of what would be an epic see-saw battle. Matt Kemp plated Juan Pierre with a double in the third off of Rockie starter Mark Redman to give the Blue Crew a one run lead. Matt Holliday then slammed a one out two-run homer deep to left-center field off of David Wells in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Rockies their first lead at 5-4. The Dodgers would strike right back in the next inning. James Loney homered to deep right off of Rockie reliever Matt Herges to tie the game. Herges was pulled after giving up a single to Ramon Martinez and a Mike Lieberthal walk. Jeremy Affeldt quickly retired the first two batters her faced, but Tony Abreu then lashed a triple into the left field corner to make it a 7-5 Dodger lead. Russell Martin hit a solo off of Jorge Julio in the top of the eighth to increase the Dodger bulge to three. In most places a three run lead with Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito is just about as sure a bet as you can have, but this is Coors Field we're talking about so as we have known for a very long time now, the normal rules don't apply. Addtionally, Broxton had been quite shaky coming into last night's outing, allowing five earned runs in his prior eight appearances coving 5 1/3 innings for an 8.44 ERA. Broxton's slump continued into last night as Ryan Spilborghs homered deep to center after a Garret Atkins single to trim the margin to one. Unlike Broxton, Saito had been nothing short of incredible for the Dodgers of late, allowing only TWO hits and not a single earned run in his previous 15 appearances covering 15 innings. With a 1.21 ERA, he was within an inning of eclipsing Eric Gagne's Dodger record 1.20 ERA set back in 2003. Saito quickly retired the first two Rockie batters before Holliday singled to right. That brought up the dangerous and very hungry Todd Helton to the plate. Helton only had one hit in his first eight at bats of the twinbill - an RBI single in game one. Saito quickly got two strikes on Helton, but then left a pitch out over the left inside part of the plate. And Helton didn't miss it, crushing the ball into the right-center field stands for a dramatic 9-8 Rockie victory. With a Padres win, the Dodgers and Rockies now both lie 4 1/2 games back of them for the N.L. Wild Card.
-----
Back in our nation's capital, the Washington Nationals are definitely trying to close old RFK Stadium out in style - and they are also doing their best to spoil the Mets title run. Just a week ago, the Mets held a seemingly commanding seven game lead over the Philadelphia Philles in the N.L. East race. A few days earlier, I had told a few people on Ron Shandler's BaseballHQ site that the Mets pitching beyond Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine was very tenuous at best and that I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lost several games off their lead down the stretch. Flash forward to a week later. The Phillies went into last night winners of five straight games, while the Mets had lost four in a row, including a humiliating 12-4 loss to the Nationals on Monday night. That big seven game lead now was only 2 1/2 games for the Mets.
Early on, it looked like the Mets would finally put an end to their losing skid as they pounded Nats starter Joel Hanrahan for four runs in the top of the first inning. Hanrahan continued to struggle and was pulled after only pitching three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, while walking two. Mets starter John Maine continued his post-July struggles, giving up three runs to the Nats in his first four innings. The Mets tallied two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to give Maine a 7-3 lead. The gritty Nats finally got to Maine in a big way in the bottom of the fifth. After a Nook Logan single and a Felipe Lopez walk, Ryan Zimmerman was caught looking at a called third strike. Wily Mo Pena continued his heroics for the Nats, plating Logan with a single to center. Austin Kearns singled to right to score Lopez to cut the margin again to two. Ronnie Belliard then delivered the knock-out blow, slamming a three-run homer deep into the left field seats to give the Nats an 8-7 lead. Maine mercifully was pulled after that pitch. D'Ángelo Jiménez added an insurance run for the Nats in the bottom of the sixth to give them a 9-7 lead. Several times, I've commended Nats manager on the job he's done this year. Since their 9-25 start, the Nats had played very respectable .500 ball (58-58) going into last night's game. Acta may have done his best managing job of the season last night, employing NINE pitchers! Chad Cordero quickly recorded two outs in the ninth and then got into trouble as the Mets plated Shawn Green on a Jeff Conine single. "The Chief" ended the game in style for the Nats, striking out Ruben Gotay to end the game and sending the 19,966 in attendance home very happy. With a Phillies win, the Mets once gaudy seven game lead in the N.L. East race is now only 1 1/2 games.
-----
The Dodgers came into yesterday's day-night doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies three games behind the San Diego Padres for the N.L. Wild Card spot. The Rockies hopes were even slimmer coming in to the series, starting the day five games back of the Padres. Given the history of Colorado's Coors Field, this figured to be a very high scoring series. Home plate umpire Tim Welke did his best to make sure that game one would not be your typical scoring fest at Coors, employing a very generous strike zone throughout. Starting pitchers Jeff Francis and Chad Billingsley were almost constantly in trouble, allowing baserunners in practically every inning. Thanks to some fortuitous double-play grounders and questionable third strike calls, only four runs would be scored in game one. Billingsley allowed only two runs in his 5 1/3 innings of work - Matt Holliday singled in Cory Sullivan in the fourth and Todd Helton scored Sullivan with a single of his own in the sixth. The Dodgers managed ten baserunners against Francis, but only scored once - a solo home run by Olmedo Saenz with two out in the seventh knocked Francis from the game. Francis was the big beneficiary of Welke's big strike zone, fanning a career high ten batters. Joe Koshansky quickly erased Saenz' run, scoring Brad Hawpe in the bottom of the seventh for a 3-1 Colorado lead. LaTroy Hawkins, Brian Fuentes and Manny Corpas kept the Dodgers in check the final 2 1/3 innings to seal the victory in game one.
The second game of the twinbill was much more typical of what we've become accustomed to over the years at Coors Field. Each team tallied three runs in the first inning. It was the beginning of what would be an epic see-saw battle. Matt Kemp plated Juan Pierre with a double in the third off of Rockie starter Mark Redman to give the Blue Crew a one run lead. Matt Holliday then slammed a one out two-run homer deep to left-center field off of David Wells in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Rockies their first lead at 5-4. The Dodgers would strike right back in the next inning. James Loney homered to deep right off of Rockie reliever Matt Herges to tie the game. Herges was pulled after giving up a single to Ramon Martinez and a Mike Lieberthal walk. Jeremy Affeldt quickly retired the first two batters her faced, but Tony Abreu then lashed a triple into the left field corner to make it a 7-5 Dodger lead. Russell Martin hit a solo off of Jorge Julio in the top of the eighth to increase the Dodger bulge to three. In most places a three run lead with Jonathan Broxton and Takeshi Saito is just about as sure a bet as you can have, but this is Coors Field we're talking about so as we have known for a very long time now, the normal rules don't apply. Addtionally, Broxton had been quite shaky coming into last night's outing, allowing five earned runs in his prior eight appearances coving 5 1/3 innings for an 8.44 ERA. Broxton's slump continued into last night as Ryan Spilborghs homered deep to center after a Garret Atkins single to trim the margin to one. Unlike Broxton, Saito had been nothing short of incredible for the Dodgers of late, allowing only TWO hits and not a single earned run in his previous 15 appearances covering 15 innings. With a 1.21 ERA, he was within an inning of eclipsing Eric Gagne's Dodger record 1.20 ERA set back in 2003. Saito quickly retired the first two Rockie batters before Holliday singled to right. That brought up the dangerous and very hungry Todd Helton to the plate. Helton only had one hit in his first eight at bats of the twinbill - an RBI single in game one. Saito quickly got two strikes on Helton, but then left a pitch out over the left inside part of the plate. And Helton didn't miss it, crushing the ball into the right-center field stands for a dramatic 9-8 Rockie victory. With a Padres win, the Dodgers and Rockies now both lie 4 1/2 games back of them for the N.L. Wild Card.
-----
Back in our nation's capital, the Washington Nationals are definitely trying to close old RFK Stadium out in style - and they are also doing their best to spoil the Mets title run. Just a week ago, the Mets held a seemingly commanding seven game lead over the Philadelphia Philles in the N.L. East race. A few days earlier, I had told a few people on Ron Shandler's BaseballHQ site that the Mets pitching beyond Pedro Martinez and Tom Glavine was very tenuous at best and that I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lost several games off their lead down the stretch. Flash forward to a week later. The Phillies went into last night winners of five straight games, while the Mets had lost four in a row, including a humiliating 12-4 loss to the Nationals on Monday night. That big seven game lead now was only 2 1/2 games for the Mets.
Early on, it looked like the Mets would finally put an end to their losing skid as they pounded Nats starter Joel Hanrahan for four runs in the top of the first inning. Hanrahan continued to struggle and was pulled after only pitching three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, while walking two. Mets starter John Maine continued his post-July struggles, giving up three runs to the Nats in his first four innings. The Mets tallied two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to give Maine a 7-3 lead. The gritty Nats finally got to Maine in a big way in the bottom of the fifth. After a Nook Logan single and a Felipe Lopez walk, Ryan Zimmerman was caught looking at a called third strike. Wily Mo Pena continued his heroics for the Nats, plating Logan with a single to center. Austin Kearns singled to right to score Lopez to cut the margin again to two. Ronnie Belliard then delivered the knock-out blow, slamming a three-run homer deep into the left field seats to give the Nats an 8-7 lead. Maine mercifully was pulled after that pitch. D'Ángelo Jiménez added an insurance run for the Nats in the bottom of the sixth to give them a 9-7 lead. Several times, I've commended Nats manager on the job he's done this year. Since their 9-25 start, the Nats had played very respectable .500 ball (58-58) going into last night's game. Acta may have done his best managing job of the season last night, employing NINE pitchers! Chad Cordero quickly recorded two outs in the ninth and then got into trouble as the Mets plated Shawn Green on a Jeff Conine single. "The Chief" ended the game in style for the Nats, striking out Ruben Gotay to end the game and sending the 19,966 in attendance home very happy. With a Phillies win, the Mets once gaudy seven game lead in the N.L. East race is now only 1 1/2 games.
-----
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
